Sharks under-the-radar stories after early preseason losses originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Editor’s Note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his reporting on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
Will Smith’s pre-season debut is an obvious headline, but let’s also talk about some of the lesser-known stories surrounding the San Jose Sharks.
It’s too early in training camp to worry. The Sharks’ season opener isn’t until Oct. 10, but Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks and strong performances from Jack Thompson and Vitek Vanecek got me thinking.
Danil Gushchin, Alex Wennberg and Thompson scored on a losing effort and Vanecek stopped 11 of 12 shots before being replaced by Gabriel Carriere.
Going into camp, the Sharks’ defensive depth chart appeared to consist of, in some order, Mario Ferraro, Jake Walman, Cody Ceci, Jan Rutta, Henry Thrun, Matt Benning, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Shakir Mukhamadullin. That’s eight defensemen, more than enough, except Vlasic and Mukhamadullin have yet to participate in camp due to day-to-day injuries.
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